After days of bullish momentum, selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors resorted to profit-taking amid uncertainty over US tariff hikes, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing over 500 points during the opening hours of trading on Tuesday.
At 10:15am, the benchmark index was hovering at 132,868.89 level, a decrease of 501.25 points or 0.38%.
Selling was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, cement, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PSO, MCB, MEBL and UBL traded in the red.
On Monday, PSX continued its record-breaking advance, as the market’s bullish sentiment, buoyed by strong corporate earnings expectations, receding trade-related anxieties, and improved macroeconomic indicators.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 1,421 points or 1.08% to close at an unprecedented 133,370 points.
Globally, Asian stock markets took in stride the latest twist in US President Donald Trump’s tariff roll-out on Tuesday, as the dollar held onto gains and oil retreated.
Shares on Wall Street fell after Trump sent letters to 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, unveiling sharply higher tariffs on imports into the United States, while also postponing their implementation to August 1.
Japan’s Nikkei stock gauge opened lower but then turned positive after Trump described that deadline as “firm, but not 100% firm” and said tariffs may be adjusted for some countries.
In April, Trump capped all of the so-called reciprocal tariffs with trading partners at 10% until July 9 to allow for negotiations. Only two agreements, with Britain and Vietnam, have been reached.
In June, Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework covering tariff rates, restoring a fragile truce in their trade war.
Tariffs on Japan and South Korea are now due to go up to 25% on August 1. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the hike deeply regrettable and said his nation would continue negotiations with the US.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2% in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.4% while South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.5%.
This is an intra-day update
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